The Princess and the Demon
by SapphireCuatro
Summary: He never wanted to watch over her. She never wanted to be trapped far from home. They both would have been content if their paths had never crossed, yet fate still decided to throw them together. Ulquihime.
1. A Demon is Born

Even though Ulquiorra and Orihime have what I think are some of the most interesting interactions in Bleach, I've never tried to write them before. So, we'll see how it goes.

Also, the POV will switch between Orihime and Ulquiorra for each chapter, so some events may overlap.

* * *

It was a very dreary existence.

A vast gray desert shrouded in eternal night. Neverending. There was no shelter from enemies, no buildings, no civilization, nothing, just a wasteland of despair. The alternative was an underground forest full of hiding places for enemies, a dark pit of savagery.

Brute instinct: needed to avoid and, when necessary, defeat enemies. Brutality: needed to set an example to others. A warrior's tactics: needed to outwit the others and stand on top. All else was extraneous.

The weaker ones usually traveled in packs, to better protect themselves from the strong. But they were foolish trash who usually ended up eating one another anyway. There were only two beings other than yourself. There were enemies, who had the potential of damaging you. They had to be either subdued or killed. Then there was the trash, not worth troubling yourself over.

The only law was to eat or be eaten. The only thing worthy of respect was power greater than your own. There was nothing else to this gray, gray world.

Until, one day, there was a disturbance.

Someone entered Hueco Mundo. An outsider. But new souls were always entering Hueco Mundo, so he didn't think anything of it.

But then the trash started fleeing, as they did only in the face of extremely high spiritual pressures. This made him curious. Had another Vasto Lorde been created? It was a rare event, to be sure, but certainly not impossible.

Then the lower Menos started migrating as well, towards this new spiritual pressure. Like they were drawn to it.

Of course, he too could feel it too, somewhere out across the horizon.

Hollows continued migrating in that direction, and once they left they never returned. After a while, there were no other Hollows within even a close distance. That wouldn't do at all. Because although he was very powerful, he still needed nourishment.

He tried to put it off for as long as possible, but after a time his need for sustenance became dire, and he had no choice but to migrate as well. This new being had taken all of the Hollows within his territory, and would be punished for it.

He took to the air and advanced rapidly across the desert towards the spiritual pressure, just like so many lesser Hollows before him. It was coming from Las Noches, formerly another Vasto Lorde's territory.

There was someone far below in the desert sands, just standing there, gazing up at him. Someone without a mask. The source of the spiritual pressure. Strange. The only human souls he had seen in Hueco Mundo were weak and quickly devoured. Yet this one stood there completely unperturbed, with the most spiritual pressure he had ever encountered.

He did not understand.

…

The man was neither a Hollow nor a human. He was a shinigami, the age-old enemy of the Hollows. His name was Sosuke Aizen, and he ruled Las Noches now. Strange, that a shinigami should come to rule Hollows.

In Las Noches, there were perverse hybrid creatures, not quite Hollow and not quite shinigami. They called themselves Arrancars. Creatures who had been trash before now dared to be so presumptuous as to think that they could mock and berate him, on no account other than this. But by far the most arrogant among them were the ones who called themselves 'Espada'. One even thought to challenge him, and he killed them. He was even willing to devour this bizarre excuse for a Hollow, while the other Espada and Aizen looked on. He had won. He was the superior Hollow.

The concept of Arrancars was nevertheless intriguing to him, though. There was nothing else for him. He was as high as he could possibly go. He had not thought it possible to evolve further. But it would seem that he had been incorrect. He still had possibilities. He still had potential. He could progress. Maybe it really was possible to break the monotony of his current existence.

He decided to take Aizen's offer to be made into an Arrancar.

…

There were a few things Aizen told him ahead of time.

The first: "Don't fret. Let the Hogyoku do its work." Foolishness. As if he would fret about anything.

The second: "The Hogyoku can make you into whatever sort of Arrancar you want to be. However, if you want to gain an ability then you'll also have to give one up. Most choose to give up their defensive abilities in favor of offense." Pure idiocy. They might be able to defeat their opponents more quickly but if they took even a few hits then it was all over.

And the third was a warning: "It should be a painless process. However, if you become involuntary during the transformation then it will become excruciating. Once the Hogyoku's process is started, it cannot be stopped, regardless if the personal desires of the subject change."

And then it began.

Aizen vanished into darkness. Then the little Vasto Lorde realized that he could no longer move his body. He wondered if he'd been tricked somehow, but…no. Of course not. He was not easy to fool, and he certainly wouldn't get misled by a lowly shinigami.

So he thought about what sort of Arrancar he wanted to be. He was paralyzed in the dark, what else did he have to do, but think? He decided that he liked his abilities the way they were. He wouldn't have the sheer brute strength, but with the ability to regenerate, he'd undoubtedly last longer. _Although, I wouldn't mind being a little taller._ He was small, even for a Vasto Lorde.

He felt a tingling sensation all over-strange, but not necessarily unpleasant. He wondered if the Hogyoku could hear his thoughts. What a disturbing concept.

Then he felt something crumbling away from his face, and that was strangest of all, because when it was gone it felt like the air was clear and pure for the first time. Like he'd been breathing through a filter until now. The darkness lifted. Aizen was standing nearby. "What's your name, new comrade?"

"…Ulquiorra Cifer."

There were pieces of a shattered mask on the floor. He picked one up and looked at it. That had been on _his_ face? And his fingers, they were so long and thin and pale now. He clenched and unclenched his fist. Well, it appeared to work, anyway.

He examined his body as soon as possible, standing in front of a mirror. He had never before seen his own appearance, so he wasn't entirely sure how different this new form was from his previous one. He only knew how it felt: strange and unfamiliar, like it didn't really fit him properly. He'd barely been able to stand on his new legs at first, much less to say walk a straight line. Sure, he'd had legs before, of course, but their usage had been optional. With this form? Not so much.

He looked like a human now, that was all there was to it, although he had retained his hole and part of his mask still clung stubbornly to his head. A Hollow that looked like a human. Strange, but in a way, the sort of creature that could be the perfect predator. Narrow shoulders, small hips, lean frame: he was still physically small, even as an Arrancar. And it didn't feel like he'd gotten any taller. Oh well.

One of the first things he got was clothing, which was really quite strange and something that Ulquiorra was unaccustomed to. He originally thought that the clothing served as some kind of armor, which is why Aizen wanted the Arrancars to wear it, but that was not the case. Clothing was easily torn and damaged, and it felt like it was constricting his movements. He just didn't see its practical value at first, truthfully. After a while, though, he came to understand. It was like its own unique form of protection.

There were many clothes to pick from, with many different sizes and designs. Ulquiorra preferred an outfit that would cover his hole. He wasn't sure why, but he felt a bit…hmm, what was the right term that could be applied? Self-conscious? Yes. He didn't want to flaunt his hole where everyone could always see it.

There were other things he learned about as well, as an Arrancar, that he had never really known about as a Hollow. Las Noches was a very strange place.

There was water - for personal hygiene as well as food and drink. At first he was confused as to its application for these purposes, but over time he figured out its proper usage.

There was light - artificial light, and dim, but light nonetheless. It was light enough to satisfy the purposes of Aizen and his two shinigami allies, but dark enough not to disturb creatures who were light-sensitive.

And most amazingly, there was sunlight. Ulquiorra had never known that it was possible for something so bright to exist in Hueco Mundo. He couldn't even go out into it at first. It hurt his eyes and temporarily blinded him, and so because of this he had despised this new innovation at first. It was something capable of hurting him and yet there was absolutely nothing he could do about it, leaving him with a sense of helplessness he was unaccustomed to and liked not at all. Gradually, though, he became acclimated to it, and over time he was able to stand under the sun without feeling bothered by it. It was after that point that he decided that sunlight wasn't so bad after all and was actually quite a remarkable thing.

It took more than basic resources to make a competent organization, though. Some rules and standards were necessary.

One was that there was no cannibalism. Arrancars were forbidden from devouring their own kind. Aizen's reasoning: That civilized creatures do not eat their own allies.

Another was that all Arrancars were required to keep up with their personal hygiene. Aizen himself was very meticulous about this and expected his subordinates to be the same way. Aizen's reasoning: That he was top dog and could make any sort of rules he damn well wanted.

Aizen was always to be obeyed. This was a given, anyway. He was powerful, he was cunning, he was clearly superior. Aizen's reasoning: That his ambitions would fail without absolute obedience.

Espadas were to administer Aizen's orders, or get Fraccions to do so in their stead. Arrancars were subordinate to more powerful Arrancars. Aizen's reasoning: That a clear chain of command was necessary to maintain order.

Arrancars were to always wear some form of clothing. Some of them were never able to get comfortable in clothing and wore the bare minimum necessary so that they wouldn't get in trouble. Aizen's reasoning: That unlike Hollows, Arrancars had distinctive anatomy, and civilized individuals did not necessarily expose all of it to everyone they came in contact with.

Fornication was never to take place in public areas. Once the Arrancars had figured out that there were things they could do with one another other than killing it had surprisingly become a problem. Aizen's reasoning: That there were some things it just wasn't fair to subject others to.

Killing allies was only somewhat tolerated. When you had a building full of ruthless and skilled killers, most of whom lacked any semblance of a moral compass, corpses inevitably turned up every once in a while. However, Aizen only tolerated a certain number of 'accidents' before he dealt out punishment. Aizen's reasoning: There were enough enemies out there to kill the Arrancars, without them killing each other.

There was one rule, however, that could absolutely, under no circumstances, _ever_ be violated. No Arrancars were to leave Hueco Mundo without permission. Aizen had informed them all of his elaborate plan-to raise up an army of Hollows and create a key to enter the dimension of the Soul King, with the intention of coming to rule all realms, of both the living and the dead. However, the element of surprise was vital. It was important that the war be started on Aizen's terms. If the Soul Society was made aware before preparations were completed, then operations might be compromised.

To secure Hueco Mundo was impressive. But to atop to stand atop the world…that was above ambition. That was madness.

And yet if there was any being that could do it, then Sosuke Aizen was the one. He was a shinigami, the enemy of Hollows, yet he had brought Hollows to their knees before him. He had forced ordinarily solitary creatures to work together. He had brought order to a lawless place. He had made Hueco Mundo peaceful and united - well, as much as such a place could ever be, anyway. He was something beyond the level of a mere shinigami. Who else could accomplish so much alone but a being more akin to a god?

After Ulquiorra became an Arrancar, he had to amend his worldview somewhat. There was trash. There were enemies. There were allies. And there was Lord Aizen.

…

Because of his mask remnant, he learned to sleep almost exclusively on his right side. The mask wasn't heavy at all, just bulky. He didn't even really notice it was there except when it inconvenienced him. There were a few times his horn smacked into a wall or doorframe or something and knocked him off-balance.

Like the mask, the Hollow hole could never be gotten rid of, a physical reminder of a past that could never be completely discarded. Oddly, it was the most sensitive part of the body. It felt weird when anything even brushed against it, and touching the Hollow hole even a short period of time was a quick way to get someone _excited_. Ulquiorra had learned that little tidbit of information from Nnoitra Jiruga, even though it was something he hadn't particularly wanted to know.

Ulquiorra had been made an Espada by Lord Aizen not long after becoming an Arrancar. This meant, unfortunately, that he ended up interacting with the other Espada more often than he would have liked.

There was, of course, Nnoitra, a repugnant creature with an insatiable sex drive and sadomasochistic tendencies.

There was Szayel Aporro, a friend of Nnoitra's, an association that in of itself indicated how repulsive he was.

There was Grimmjow, an impulsive idiot whose bloodlust never seemed to subside.

Then there was the matter of Yammy.

Yammy and Ulquiorra made quite the odd couple. Yammy possessed great strength but not a great amount of intelligence or common sense. He was a brute force of destruction, levelling parts of Las Noches or killing minor Arrancars without a second thought. Lord Aizen had asked Ulquiorra to monitor Yammy, primarily because all of the other Espada were extremely impatient, didn't care enough to do the job correctly, or were insane. Or any mixture of the three. Most of the time, though, it didn't feel so much like 'monitoring' as it did 'babysitting'. To be fair, though, it wasn't just Yammy. Merely observing his fellow Espada in their day-to-day lives made him think it was really for the best that Arrancars couldn't reproduce.

Of course, he never actually voiced such things and just went through his life doing whatever he was supposed to be doing at any given time, following the rules, and not causing trouble. As a result of merely being himself, Ulquiorra was entrusted with a variety of tasks. Ulquiorra was honored that a powerful being like Lord Aizen had confidence in him, but even his deep well of patience sometimes ran dry. Being the dependable one was both a blessing and a curse, and so naturally he sometimes directed his annoyance at his undependable fellow Espada.

The main problem with many of his fellow Arrancar, that he could see, seemed to be that they didn't know what they wanted to be, more like Hollows or more like shinigami. They could go from civilized to brutish in an instant, like they were torn between their original Hollow nature and the new feelings and ways of thinking shinigami and humans had that the Arrancars had been incapable of fully experiencing as Hollows.

The most gratuitous example was the ongoing love-hate relationship between Nelliel and Nnoitra. It had started with Nnoitra hanging around the Tercera Espada a lot. For some reason, he paid particular attention to her over any other Arrancar. It became clear after a while that he had singled her out and was interested in claiming her as his mate - another strange thing. Hollows did not have mates or commitments to one another as other creatures did - a consequence of losing their hearts. And yet Nnoitra had developed a bond with Nelliel, an attachment to her that bordered on obsession. He dealt with it the only way he knew how - through violence and intimidation. In the same manner that the Espada could claim weaker Arrancars as Fraccions through the rule of dominance, so too did Nnoitra attempt to claim Nelliel. If he became strong enough to defeat her, then he could force her into submission and make her his. After all, when one Arrancar desired another, it was the game of dominance and submission that made the whole thing interesting.

It could have very well been the other way around, with Nelliel dominating Nnoitra. She could have done so at any time if she'd wanted to. But she didn't want to, and that was most of the problem. She was completely oblivious, but who could claim surprise at that? It wasn't like she had any experience with such things.

So then Nnoitra set his mind on forcing her to submit. It became almost a constant thing - Nnoitra challenging Nelliel and Nelliel beating him to a bloody pulp. Then Nnoitra would go to the medical ward, get his wounds healed, go find Nelliel, and try again. Rinse and repeat.

Eventually, though, Nnoitra's obsession with Nelliel degenerated from lust into pure violence, culminating in an incident that led to Nelliel's expulsion from the Espada. It was a shame, really. Lord Aizen had lost a perfectly good soldier, and for what?

Arrancars did not need to be bogged down by such things. They were a condensed mass of fighting ability and brute instinct - the perfect super soldier. All else was extraneous, nothing more than a weakness.

There was no love. There was no hate. Those concepts were mere illusion, conjured by those too weak to accept the harsh reality - the world cared for no one. It did not love or hate. It merely existed. A life was no more than a speck in the scheme of the universe, an insignificant thing that would eventually end. There was no point in forming attachments or taking time to cultivate pointless things, because they all would fall victim to time and fade away. There was only the present, the task at hand, doing the things necessary to prolong your existence another day.

Hollows and Arrancars were created and died. The ranks of the Espada changed. Only in Las Noches was there any indication of the passing of time. Outside, the same moon hung in the same sky over the same desert, eternally. There was a sense of balance and order to the world.

Well, until one day when Ulquiorra was sent out on a reconaissance mission with Yammy to the world of the living that is. What he saw there changed everything.

* * *

The "princess" will make her debut next chapter.


	2. A Princess Stolen Away

Thank you all for the reviews, favorites, and alerts. Sorry for the long gap between updates. But, life just gets hectic sometimes.

* * *

Lesser people would have been beaten down and broken long ago, but she was able to keep smiling. To dwell on tragedy and to not enjoy life would be an insult to the people like her brother who had had theirs cut short.

And it was for this reason that one of the people she loved the most was one of the people she could comprehend the least.

Ichigo Kurosaki. Strong, stubborn, determined, willing to die to protect his loved ones. And yet he was melancholy, moody, and brooding, as though he bore a terrible burden and was incapable of enjoying life to its fullest. He was an individual whom she identified with completely, and yet whom she could not understand.

She had always had an older brother watching over her and looking out for her. Sora, who had only wanted her to be happy. He was a constant presence in her life, from as far back as she could remember, so she had never appreciated that he was there - until, suddenly, he wasn't anymore.

It had been such an unexpected event that she wasn't quite sure what to do. She cried and cried, sure, it was only natural. But it was only after the initial grief had passed that she began to notice how empty everything was.

She woke up in the mornings to an empty house. And she came home in the afternoons knowing that no one else would be coming. It was just her, alone, and there was no one who cared what happened to her anymore.

She knew that there were other people in the world much worse off than she was. She knew that it would make Sora unhappy to see her alone and miserable. And knowing these things made her even more lonely and miserable. She had to fend for herself now, and that meant dealing with her own problems. There was no one she could cry to anymore. No one who could make bad things go away, even for a little while.

But she was weak, a pathetic person who could only cling to and depend on others. She clung to Tatsuki. She clung to Ichigo. Every person in her life, she clung to. She gained a best friend she could cry to, a boy she could idolize, classmates who adored her. By the time she reached high school, she was surrounded by people who loved her. She thrived on it. She needed it. Because at the end of the day, she went home to an empty apartment and was all alone again. At school, at least, her presence meant something.

Ichigo was everything that she wished she could be. He was strong and he was brave. He was stubborn and loyal, protective and determined, a man willing to put his own life on the line. He didn't need other people to justify his existence, and he did what he felt was right, regardless of what anyone else thought. And when he risked his life to save hers from her Hollowfied brother, she saw completely how heroic and admirable he was - and how weak and worthless she was in comparison.

...

Rukia Kuchiki was the reason everything came crashing down.

Rukia was loud-mouthed, forceful, and domineering, the polar opposite of Orihime, and she brought out a side to Ichigo that Orihime had never been able to. Ichigo was no longer an untouchable, idealized figure, but a boy like any other, who Rukia picked on, bantered with, and bullied. Ichigo argued with her. He complained about her. And he busted up an enemy fortress to save her.

Did he love her?

He didn't have to go out of his way to help her. He didn't have to risk his life for her. No one made him.

Did he love her, as a man loved a woman?

Orihime was afraid to know.

He battled terribly strong opponents. He was wounded. But he wouldn't back down. He refused to abandon her, even up until the end. And he lived to see her another day - this time.

Did he love Rukia Kuchiki? Did he love what a strong-willed and beautiful woman she was? She had entered his life and left her mark on it.

Orihime had known him longer. She liked him - no, loved him, so much. And yet it was Rukia who held the position that Orihime had always dreamed of. She had loved Ichigo and lost him. Because she was weak.

So she vowed to become stronger, to become a better and more admirable person. She had lost to Rukia, but she could also learn from her.

Rukia Kuchiki, the woman Orihime Inoue admired the most, but envied above all others. And it was the envy that Orihime was disturbed by. Rukia had never been anything but kind to her. Rukia had not told Ichigo to destroy half the Soul Society for her. Rukia had not told him to behave recklessly, to flirt with death. It was unfair to blame her for everything that had happened in the Soul Society, but somewhere deep down, Orihime did, and it made her feel guilty and ashamed.

Wanting to become a stronger and more admirable woman? She knew that she was lying to herself. A jealous, clingy person like herself could never be worthy of respect to anyone. The people she had befriended her over time, who liked her and protected her - if they saw her true self, they would definitely be disgusted and reject her. And then she would be alone again.

She would go to any lengths to prevent that, even if it meant never allowing anyone to see past her façade of cheeriness and optimism. The eternally happy Orihime Inoue. That's who she was.

But that was impossible, wasn't it? No one was _always_ happy. No one was _always_ content with their life. Did no one realize?

…

She thought that when the Arrancars came, she would have her chance.

Even if Ichigo didn't accept her as a love interest, she wanted him to acknowledge her as a worthwhile individual. To be remembered favorably in his thoughts even after they parted ways, whenever that might be. To be a person who could stand up for herself.

But then Sado was mauled before her very eyes, and she began to have doubts.

There were two of them, a big one and a small one. She wasn't quite sure who or what they were - resembling both Hollows and shinigami. She didn't know what their purpose was in coming to Karakura. All she knew was that they had attacked her friend, and so that made them her enemies.

There were, however, two of them and only one of her, and she could not attack both of them at once.

The small one was pale, with black hair, green eyes, and green markings on his face. He was standing in the back looking bored. He didn't really seem very threatening.

The big one on, the other hand, was a different story. He was a hulking behemoth who looked like he could grind her into dust with one finger. She couldn't get past his sheer size.

_How can I win? Against someone like that? _

The thought flickered through her head for only a moment before she sent Tsubaki into combat, but it sealed her fate.

She was only somewhat coherent for the rest of the battle, but she did remember that Ichigo came.

…

Why was she so worthless? Why did she need to be saved? She did nothing but inconvenience others.

So she went to the Soul Society to train. She did have many flaws, it was true, but if she gave up on trying to improve herself, she truly would be trash. She would, someday, show them all - show them her true self, a better, stronger Orihime, and finally be able to remove the mask.

But then someone unexpected suddenly re-entered her life. An Arrancar. The small one.

This time, however, she had to reassess the level of threat he posed.

"You will come with me to Hueco Mundo, woman. Don't speak, unless it's to agree. If you say anything else, your comrades will be killed."

He watched her.

She watched him.

He waited.

_He just ripped two shinigami apart. What if he hurts me, too? I…_ She looked at the projections behind him. Her allies, engaged in difficult battles. And where was she? Far away from the battlefield, useless again! And yet she held their fates in her hands.

_All I ever do is cause trouble for others. All I ever do is burden people and drag them down. _

The small Arrancar was still standing there, waiting patiently.

_I'll free you all from me. I'll never burden you all again. I'm the one these people want, so if I go with them, they'll never trouble you all again._ "Yes", she whispered.

He was still just standing there watching her. She spoke louder. "Yes. Yes, I'll…I'll go to Hueco Mundo." She hated how her voice was trembling. "With you. But please, please don't kill them."

"Because of you, they will live another day", he said. He spoke in a very dull monotone. "I have something for you, woman." He pulled what looked like a bracelet out of the pocket of his hakama. "Put this on. It will make you invisible to everyone except Arrancars, and allow you to pass through objects."

She tentatively went and took it from him, not wanting to give him any reason to become hostile, and slid it over her wrist. The Arrancar was still talking. "I will let you say goodbye to one person before we go" was what snapped her attention back to him.

"However", he continued, "That person must not be made aware of your presence. And you may choose only one. If you break either of these rules then I will consider our agreement breached."

All Orihime could splutter out was a "Why?"

"Are you saying that you would rather just leave without bidding farewell to anyone? Because that is also acceptable."

"No. No, I…that's not what I want."

"Then we will meet again at midnight tonight, woman, at the place where we first encountered one another. And you had better not be late."

It was only after he'd departed that the enormity of what had happened really occurred to her. And it was only then that she began to really wonder what exactly she'd gotten herself into.

…

She got only one goodbye, and some might think that her choice was strange.

In the end, though, there was only one choice. Her hero. Her protector. The boy she admired, who embodied all the characteristics she wished that she herself possessed.

It was the last time she would ever see him. Her last chance to speak to him. What wasn't done now, she would never get the opportunity to do again.

And since they were never to see each other again anyway, she wanted to relish the moment, just this once, and she almost did…but she couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to kiss him, to try and salvage a happy memory from the sadness of the moment.

"Thank you, Kurosaki...goodbye." And then she just left. She would never know what it was like to kiss him, to imagine even for a moment that she was special to him, but there were some things people were never meant to know.

She walked around Karakura one last time. To her apartment building. To her school. To Tatsuki's house. How long would it take people to notice that she was gone? Would they wonder about her at first, then forget about her over time and go on with their lives as though nothing was different? Would it be like when Rukia first went back to the Soul Society, like she'd never existed at all? Would it be like when her brother had died, an indescribable emptiness caused by someone's sudden lack of presence? Would they miss her? Would they be sad?

Orihime went to the crater where the Arrancars had appeared for the very first time, and waited.

It was dark outside, and so unsurprisingly, there was no one else there. She wondered briefly whether she'd still be waiting when morning came.

At midnight, however, there was a disturbance.

He appeared suddenly before her just as he had in the Senkaimon. "So you're here, woman. Very good. I will escort you to Hueco Mundo. Come."

She looked warily at the portal he had opened up, then went through, with the Arrancar right behind her.

…

Orihime was not sure what kind of place she was expecting Hueco Mundo to be, but what she saw was not it. The only reason she knew it was Hueco Mundo was because of her escort's eloquent introduction ("This is Hueco Mundo, woman.")

It was a realm of nothing. There were no distinguishing landmarks except for one building (one huge building, but still). It was night time and there was a moon (which kind of surprised her) and…nothing else. A desert. White sand that stretched for miles in every direction. It all looked the same, all the way to the horizon. It was a world of black, white, and gray. Complete emptiness.

It was like she'd walked into some kind of hell born from her deepest fears.

"This…this is where Hollows live?" This was where Sora had lived. No wonder he had lost all sense of identity and gone mad.

She looked over at the Arrancar and saw him watching her. She couldn't tell if he was annoyed or impatient or any emotion he might be feeling at all really, because his face seemed to always be frozen in the same apathetic expression. He wasn't really scary, though. He didn't seem to possess the same murderous bloodlust as the others who had come to the world of the living and he didn't seem to have any intention of harming her. He had even given her time to get her affairs in order. _He's more like a bored bodyguard._

"Um, excuse me Mr. Arrancar." His unblinking stare was making her nervous and was frankly somewhat creepy. He looked mostly human, didn't he have to blink like a human? "Um…"

"If you don't have anything to say then don't bother me, woman." His voice clearly was tinged with irritation. Well, at least that was better than the deadpan tone. (Although his facial expression still didn't change).

"Why does Aizen want me?"

"That is not for me to ask, and not you, either. And since he is the lord of Hueco Mundo, you should refer to him more respectfully. A weak human like yourself should be grateful that you have come to the attention of a powerful being like Lord Aizen."

"Well, I did what you wanted and came to Hueco Mundo. I did everything I agreed to."

"Lord Aizen is waiting for you within Las Noches."

Aizen, the treacherous Soul Reaper, who had sliced up his opponents like they were nothing. The thought of having to stand before a man like that, in the middle of hostile territory with no guarantee of her safety, was not exactly appealing. "And what if I refuse to go?"

"Then you can stay in the desert and die. And humans such as yourself, who possess spirit energy, don't appear here very often. Which means that you will probably attract the most vicious and bloodthirsty Hollows, who will eat you alive. You will then become a Hollow yourself and live out the rest of your days eating other Hollows."

The first option seemed to have higher odds of not dying in a pointlessly grisly way.

There were four other Arrancars waiting inside for them - the four who would have killed Orihime's friends had she refused to come here. There was the big, brutish one, a blond one that stared absentmindedly, one whose level of femininity put Orihime to shame, and a one-armed one with a massive scar on his chest.

"What took you so long, Ulquiorra?" the girly-looking one complained. "How long does it take to fetch one stupid girl?"

Ulquiorra. She remembered him being called that by the big one what seemed like a long time ago. It was an unusual name, but at least he had a name.

"Maybe he got lost on the way back", said the one-armed one.

Orihime realized that she was the one who had delayed them. Even if her escort -er, Ulquiorra - was an enemy, she didn't want him to get punished because of her. "It wasn't his fault. It was mine."

The Arrancars all just stared at her, as though trying to figure out what she was up to.

Then: "What a stupid, useless girl", said the girly one, "I have no idea what Lord Aizen would want with you. You're not even pretty."

No one could have known at that point that he wouldn't even survive the day. What was even more shocking to Orihime than the incident itself was that none of the Arrancar were even perturbed that one of their own had just gotten half his body blown off. It didn't take her long to figure out that random maimings, unnecessarily brutal deaths, and other assorted forms of violence were the normal mode of operations here.

And again she had to wonder what exactly she'd gotten herself into.

* * *

Next chapter: Ulquiorra's most challenging assignment yet-human beings.


	3. A New Assignment

I actually lost the notebook I'd written this chapter in. O_O But I found it again.

Thank you for the reviews, favorites, and alerts, everyone. Happy 2011.

* * *

Not long after he and Yammy returned from their reconnaissance mission to the world of the living, Ulquiorra was summoned to a private meeting with Lord Aizen.

Aizen, ever direct, said, "Ulquiorra, about your little trip with Yammy to the world of the living – do you remember the girl you met while you were there? The one with the unusual powers?"

Ulquiorra remembered her powers, at least. As for her actual physical appearance, nothing in particular stood out in his memory except that she had long hair. "I remember her, Lord Aizen."

"Good. Go and bring her to Hueco Mundo."

A human, in Hueco Mundo? For what purpose? What need could Lord Aizen possibly have for a human, when he had an army of Arrancars? But then again, Lord Aizen was a shinigami, and they were fundamentally humans, albeit harder to kill. Was there some sort of need that humans had, then, for others of their kind?

"Her powers could be valuable to our cause", said Lord Aizen, "I want you to be the one to go and recruit her. Make sure she arrives back in Hueco Mundo safely and look after her well-being once she's here. She is _not_ to be eaten."

As if Ulquiorra would resort to eating a mere human.

"You can bring whoever you like to aid you", Lord Aizen continued, "Currently she is in the Soul Society, but if we attack the world of the living again, then they will probably send her back prematurely to aid her allies. However, you can use your discretion on where exactly to meet her. Do you understand your mission?"

"Yes, Lord Aizen."

…

The trap was set and sprung flawlessly. And admittedly, Ulquiorra was a bit disappointed that it was so. The woman he was supposed to retrieve was only very lightly guarded. No one even seemed to suspect that she was the real target all along. Either Lord Aizen had badly overestimated her value or her allies had badly underestimated it, and Ulquiorra refused to believe that Lord Aizen could misjudge a situation that badly.

The woman went on the defensive after he appeared to her, like prey backed into a corner, timid and frightened. Some kind of ruse, perhaps, so that he would think her weak and let his guard down. Well, he was no Yammy to foolishly underestimate an opponent. If she wanted to catch him off-guard then she would have to do better than that.

Emotions and attachments to one another were perpetually a human weakness, and they were here again. The woman agreed to accompany him cooperatively to Hueco Mundo, if her friends would be spared. What a pointless gesture. They were all going to die in a short while anyway. She did not even attempt to fight him, either. He was not surprised by it, but he had hoped that she would put up at least some resistance. It was not a fun thought to have to look forward to watching over a human as it was, much less to say one in broken spirits with a fragile psyche.

He left her there and went to retrieve the other Arrancars. They then returned to Hueco Mundo. And the whole plan was going perfectly.

The others were very angry that they had suddenly been recalled to Hueco Mundo and even angrier when he told them the true objective of the mission. Grimmjow and Luppi both yelled at him and bickered with each other. After what seemed only a short time, it was back to the world of the living, with Ulquiorra masking his spiritual pressure so that he would not be detected. It did not take him long to track her down. Her unique spiritual abilities had consequently given her a unique spiritual pressure.

The woman was silent and downcast until they came to Hueco Mundo. Then she looked all around her, gazed out across the horizon. Although she seemed more physically animated now, her voice was hushed. Like she didn't want to break the silence of this silent world. "This…this is where Hollows live?"

Live? There was probably no word conceived by humans that was so inapplicable. Perhaps she was realizing this quickly. She seemed to be pondering something.

"Um, excuse me Mr. Arrancar." Mr. Arrancar? "Um…" She trailed off and just looked at him. Why had she bothered addressing him, then? Was she needy and required constant attention?

"If you don't have anything to say then don't bother me, woman."

"Why does Aizen want me?"

What sort of a thing was that to ask? What difference did it make, the reason, or even if there was a reason at all? "That is not for me to ask, and not you, either. And since he is the lord of Hueco Mundo, you should refer to him more respectfully. A weak human like yourself should be grateful that you have come to the attention of a powerful being like Lord Aizen." It was best for her to understand her position as quickly as possible.

"Well, I did what you wanted and came to Hueco Mundo. I did everything I agreed to."

Was she stalling for time, by prolonging this pointless conversation? "Lord Aizen is waiting for you within Las Noches."

"And what if I refuse to go?"

Now _that_ was unexpected. So the woman did have some resistance in her after all. But to defy Lord Aizen's wishes was both foolish and pointless. Even he himself did not do it. "Then you can stay in the desert and die. And humans such as yourself, who possess spirit energy, don't appear here very often. Which means that you will probably attract the most vicious and bloodthirsty Hollows, who will eat you alive. You will then become a Hollow yourself and live out the rest of your days eating other Hollows."

Lord Aizen's orders had been to keep the woman safe, and those orders would be fulfilled, whether she was willing or not. He naturally preferred not to have to do things the hard way, but everything depended on her actions. He walked towards Las Noches's main entrance as though to leave her behind.

She followed after him. So then she took him seriously. Good. That would make her quite a bit easier to deal with.

Yammy, Grimmjow, Luppi, and Wonderweiss were waiting within. The woman picked up her pace suddenly to keep up with him and began walking quite close to him, while the other four hovered around them, staying just outside Ulquiorra's range. It did not take very long for the complaining to begin. And he ignored it, as usual. To acknowledge it would be to make them equals. They were quite fortunate that he had the patience for their prattering.

The female voice, however, he could not ignore. "It wasn't his fault. It was mine."

What was she trying to do? To undermine him? As if he needed a human to defend him. He would have to set her straight later.

They continued on to the throne room. The woman faltered a bit before the entrance. Not surprising. Surely she realized the immense power of the man she was about to present herself to. After that hesitation, she trailed in.

Lord Aizen was not the sort to do things in moderation anyway, but on this occasion he really went out of his way to make an impression. He sat high above them all, as though he was a god looking down on the world below. There was no doubt as to his status as the lord of Hueco Mundo. It was a show to intimidate the woman, probably.

He got right to the point and ordered her to demonstrate her abilities by restoring Grimmjow's arm. And she did so.

Ulquiorra had seen her abilities before, but he was interested in seeing them in action again. The powers of this woman were indeed greater than what he had initially suspected. She could bend reality, undo time itself. Lord Aizen must have understood the true nature of her powers from the beginning, and if such an individual was to exist, then it was best to at least neutralize her so that she could not be used against them.

If she could reject all phenomena, could she then also reject life itself? Could she destroy a soul, make it as though an individual never existed? Hollows had to continually evolve to survive, and this woman could render power pointless by rejecting its existence. Ulquiorra had never known of the ability to do such a thing existing in an Arrancar, Hollow, or shinigami, so how was it that this mere human could do things that defied all natural law? Her powers were an anomaly. He could not explain it.

He could not explain it.

Everything had some explanation. That was basic logic. But he could not explain this. Well. Not at this moment, anyway. Just because he wasn't able to explain it right now didn't mean that no explanation existed.

After Luppi was killed the show was over and the Arrancars were dismissed. "Ulquiorra", said Lord Aizen, "Won't you show our guest some hospitality?"

"Yes, Lord Aizen." Then: "Come along, woman."

Ulquiorra had been focused on getting the woman here. He hadn't really given much thought to what to do with her after he had her, so he was going to have to figure it out as he went along. For now, he needed to make sure she didn't get killed or eaten (or both), which would be a challenge in and of itself. It would not take long before knowledge of her presence spread all across Las Noches, and some of the more bold Arrancars would start poking around when his back was turned.

So the most important thing to consider was the woman's safety. It would be impractical to have her accompany him everywhere he went, but it would be good to check in on her quite frequently. If it seemed as though he was hovering over her all the time, that might be enough to discourage most of the Arrancars from approaching her, but just in case it was probably also a good precaution to never stray too far from her location at any given time.

And what should that location be? Somewhere convenient for him, no doubt, an area of Las Noches that he frequented.

Each of the Espada had been granted their own palace within Las Noches, to do with as they wished. Ulquiorra decided to put her up in his palace, not far from the room where he slept.

He didn't realize he'd stopped moving and was just standing there until the woman spoke. "Um…Mr. Ulquiorra…" So, now he was Mr. Ulquiorra instead of Mr. Arrancar, was he? "Where are you taking me?" Where, indeed?

He continued on, and heard her following after him. "Don't ask questions. Don't start conversations. Wait until others speak to you. You are in our world, now, woman, and humans are the lowest order on the food chain. So if you want to survive you can't act like a human."

"But I am a human."

"And what is a human? Merely one particular form in which life exists. But Hueco Mundo is not a conducive environment to that particular life form, so you must adapt or you will die."

He already had in mind the exact room that he would quarter her in, since it was one of the few that could be suitable for living quarters. When they arrived at it he opened the door. "This is where you will be staying for now. You can do whatever you wish, but you're not to leave until I come for you. Don't cause any trouble or bring attention to yourself." She went inside and he closed the door behind her.

Well. So that issue was taken care of, for the time being. Now was as good a time as any to deliver his report to Lord Aizen on the events of the day.

Lord Aizen had retreated to his private quarters and was lounging on his couch while he played a board game with Gin Ichimaru.

"Oh, hello Ulquiorra", said Lord Aizen, "So clearly you were successful in your mission." There was the clack of wood as he moved one of his pieces.

"Yes." Ulquiorra stood quietly and waited while each of them had a few more turns.

"And I guess you didn't have too much trouble?" said Lord Aizen.

"No. Although as you saw, some of the others were wounded by the shinigami."

"Well, they should have been more careful. Shinigami can be dangerous."

Lord Aizen was being unusually dismissive. "Were you expecting that outcome?"

"I won't say I was expecting it, but it wasn't unexpected, either. Just like what will happen next. One of two things will happen because of your actions today, Ulquiorra. Either people will try to come here to rescue Orihime Inoue, or they won't."

"And which do you think will happen, Lord Aizen?"

"Oh, that doesn't really matter. It is the Soul Society's move now, but really the choices they have are an illusion. The outcome will be the same in the end." A clack of a tile. "I believe I win again, Gin."

"So you have."

"Are you a ringer? Some of your moves made me think that you knew my strategy all along."

"Oh, I wouldn't say a 'ringer'. You really are good. But I'd be careful. One of these days you're going to get blindsided when you're not expecting it."

"Well now, I think you're getting a little carried away", said Lord Aizen, and Ulquiorra had to agree. Lord Aizen was really someone who was prepared for everything, both likely and unlikely. "So how is our guest, Ulquiorra?"

"She is currently in a room in my private palace."

"Ooh, in your private palace, eh?" said Ichimaru, "I wouldn't have expected that sort of behavior from _you_."

There seemed to be some sort of implication there. Lord Aizen didn't seemed confused by the statement, so clearly he understood the hidden meaning. Hmm. Well, Ulquiorra would just have to figure it out on his own, then.

"Are you sure you can handle this? Ulquiorra?" Ichimaru again.

Ulquiorra picked up on _this_ implication, and he didn't care for it at all. Although, he almost had to respect someone who was brazen enough to question his competence to his face. Almost. "What do you mean?"

"Well, at this point in time it would be preferable if Miss Inoue ended up, you know, not dead. Although I suppose mostly dead could be acceptable." Ichimaru looked to Lord Aizen at this, and the latter shrugged. "Well, but not dead, for sure."

"And why would she die?" Ulquiorra had never really cared for either one of Lord Aizen's shinigami lackeys. Mostly because they were shinigami.

"Oh I don't know, I'd say the risk is high what with a human soul in a building full of former Hollows and such", Ichimaru replied, "And human souls are the staple ingredient of any healthy Hollow diet."

Even as a turncoat, Ichimaru still clearly had a shinigami's contempt for Hollowkind. "I am a former Hollow myself, you know."

"And quite a powerful one at that", said Ichimaru, "You should be careful around her. You could easily hurt her. Kill her, even."

Kill her? Why would he do that? He had been expressly ordered _not_ to let her be killed. Besides, if Lord Aizen felt he was a risk to such an important prisoner, then why was he the one who had been assigned to watch over her? "Why would I harm her?"

"Accidentally, I meant. You could without realizing. You're much stronger than her, so you'll have to treat her delicately. Like a lady."

Like a lady? There were different ways of treating an individual based on gender?

"You know", Ichimaru was saying, "I've had _quite_ a bit of experience with a certain lady friend myself, and since you're not very knowledgeable in the 'interacting with others' department, I could give you some tips, you know, man-to-man."

What would be the point of that? He and the woman were both going to die someday (though he would certainly outlive her since he had a far greater lifespan), so what difference did it make in the end whether or not he was friendly towards her or cruel?

"There is no need for such pointlessness. Lord Aizen is probably just going to have her killed eventually, anyway." Ulquiorra looked over at Lord Aizen for some sort of confirmation, but saw no indication one way or the other. The lord of Hueco Mundo was currently just being a quiet observer. It was frustrating when Ulquiorra didn't know his thoughts on a particular matter.

"Well that's not very nice", said Ichimaru, "A murderer of innocent girls, what a thing to assume about someone! You're probably right, though. But there is a benefit to playing nice that I think an Arrancar ought to understand."

"And what is that?"

"Confuse her. Make her question her own loyalties. If she feels friendly – or at the very least tolerant – towards an enemy, don't you think she'll wonder in the back of her mind whether she's become a traitor?" Ichimaru tapped his head. "It's something to think about."

Feeling kindly towards an enemy and creating conflicting feelings, huh? It was something he hadn't considered. Then again, he hadn't really put much consideration towards the woman's feelings on things at all. She was just another assignment, a set of orders from Lord Aizen. And you weren't really supposed to think about orders, only to obey them.

Besides, he didn't see how anything could happen to make the woman confuse herself for an Arrancar for even a moment. She was a human, and she didn't seem to have the sort of tainted heart to become a Hollow after her mortal death. If it had been _him_ in her situation, after all, he would have let his allies die. If they were such incompetent weaklings as to get captured and faced with destruction by an enemy, then why should he have to sacrifice himself to save them? He couldn't think of any situation where he would do such a thing. If he was ordered to, maybe. Maybe.

Not to mention that as an Arrancar, he and all the others of his kind were her mortal enemies. She would never be able to like Arrancars – he himself didn't really like Arrancars, and he was one. And it would make sense for her to have a dislike for him above all others. He was the one who had stood silently by as Yammy beat her up along with her allies. He was the one who had come to her in the Senkaimon, threatening them and those shinigami. And he was the one who had brought her to Hueco Mundo.

He wasn't sure how long humans held grudges, but Arrancars and Hollows took a very long time to forget, and never forgave. No, he and the woman were two different entities who were never meant to coexist peacefully. The very fact that she was here at all and was to be afforded respectful treatment went against his every instinct. Everything about it was wrong and strange.

The two shinigami had started another round of their board game.

"Requesting permission to be dismissed, Lord Aizen."

"Granted", Lord Aizen replied without even looking up.

"Well, when I said you should think about what I said, I guess you really took that to heart, huh?" said Ichimaru, "I'm flattered. No one ever trusts what I say."

"You look like the untrustworthy sort", said Lord Aizen.

"Well, that's mean. Are you saying you don't trust me?"

"Not at all. Do you trust me, Gin?"

"Nope, not in the least."

Ulquiorra was walking towards the door. Ichimaru called after him, "Human souls with spirit energy have to have food! We don't want her to starve, so don't forget to feed her!"

Hmph. Truthfully, that was something Ulquiorra hadn't thought of. So Ichimaru actually said something useful. Not that Ulquiorra would ever tell him that.

* * *

Next chapter: Orihime gets accustomed to life in Las Noches.


	4. A New Environment

Thank you all for the reviews, favorites, and alerts, once again. :) This one's only a couple weeks after the last chapter. I won't promise this kind of update pace all the time, but I'll do my best to make it reasonable.

EDIT: White is the reflection of all colors, but the eye perceives a lack of color.

* * *

Everything about this place was black, white, and gray.

The walls of Las Noches. The floor. The ceilings and archways, furnishings and clothes. Even outside, the moon and desert sands were white and the sky was black. Orihime was glad that her room had a window, but to her it looked as though the moon was in the exact same part of the sky it had been in when she'd first arrived. That couldn't possibly be right, since some time had definitely passed between then and now. Surely at least the moon in Hueco Mundo moved, as it did in the world of the living and the Soul Society? There was no clock in this room and she didn't have a watch, so the outside world was the only way to tell the passing of time. Well, she _could_ ask the Arrancars, but they were violent and frightening.

She'd been left in this boring white room by the Arrancar called Ulquiorra. He had told her not to leave or bring attention to herself, so she really had nothing to do but wait. It had not taken her long at all to explore this new area. The room was pretty good-sized, but bare. All that was in it a rug and a couch, and the adjoining bathroom was almost as sparse. Interior decorators, the Arrancars were not.

He had told her not to leave until he came for her, but each minute went by slowly and it felt like he would never come back. There wasn't really anything to do but sleep, pace, think, and look outside. She was afraid to fall asleep in case Ulquiorra came back, since she didn't want to give him any reason to become annoyed with her. Pacing got old after a while, and it wasn't like there was much to see outside. There wasn't anything to do but sit alone in this boring white room and think about how lonely and bored she was.

It was already driving her crazy.

She tried different things to keep her mind occupied. She made up a song about Hueco Mundo, although she only got a couple stanzas because she ran out of synonyms for 'white' and 'empty'. Then she just hummed her song instead of actually singing, but music was best when you were doing other things while listening to it, and there _was_ nothing else. So she got bored with humming, too. Was this how her life was going to be from now on? Sitting in this boring room all day long just waiting for the next meal to come? Because on the subject of meals, she was getting really, _really_ hungry.

She pressed her ear up against the door as much as she could, to listen for any footsteps in the hallway outside. Nothing.

Oh! She knew what this was. They were trying to 'break' her psychologically, weren't they? They were going to leave her in this room until she went crazy and would do whatever they wanted her to. But wait, then! If that was really the case, then why had Ulquiorra left the door unlocked when he'd left her in here?

It had not taken her long at all to discover that little fact. He had explicitly told her that she was not to leave. It was possible that he'd left it unlocked out of forgetfulness, but it was hard to tell. Maybe it was a test of some sort, and something terrible would happen if she disobeyed!

And so she'd resisted temptation.

But as the minutes trickled slowly by she found herself glancing at the door more and more often, until finally she went over to stand by it again. He had just told her not to leave. He had never said anything about opening the door and looking out.

So she opened the door just a crack and peeked out. All she saw was a vast white hallway, but no signs of life. It would be so easy to just leave the room and walk off. So easy, and yet…

She remembered Ulquiorra's warning. She remembered how Grimmjow had killed the other Arrancar. She remembered how they had all so easily injured her and her friends. And so she closed the door and went to sit down on the rug.

She didn't want to stay in here, for sure, but at least her boring white room was safe. Out there, beyond that door, were Aizen and Arrancars, and she didn't know which she was more afraid of.

Had she made the right choice? Had this really been the best, most useful thing she could do for her friends? What if things just got worse because of her?

She tried to banish such thoughts from her mind. This was no time to be thinking negative things. What was done was done. She needed to concentrate on her own situation now, instead of second-guessing herself. Her objective now would be both surviving and trying to buy as much time for her friends and the shinigami as possible. If Aizen thought that she was an extremely useful asset, then she had to make him go on believing that for as long as possible.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden disturbance. She couldn't explain what it was. But it was like the atmosphere of Hueco Mundo itself had shifted.

The feeling was gone after a moment, but it left her uneasy. Was this a normal thing? A bad thing? A good thing? She wished Ulquiorra would hurry up and come back so she could ask him. Having to sit there, wondering and not knowing, was the purest kind of torture.

It was not long after that she did indeed hear footsteps outside. On the one hand she wanted to interact with another living thing. On the other hand, the only living things here were enemies. Orihime was still battling these conflicting feelings when the door opened.

It was Ulquiorra again. He didn't seem perturbed by the earlier disturbance, so that made her feel marginally more at ease. Then again, what was good for him wasn't necessarily good for her…

He wasn't alone, either. There was another Arrancar wheeling in a bowl on a cart. _Oh, food? _

"I brought a meal for you, woman", said Ulquiorra. Orihime went over to examine it more closely. The contents of the bowl looked…well, pretty similar to normal food, actually. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what the actual ingredients were and decided not to ask.

She took the bowl and accompanying chopsticks. There was no table to eat at in here, so she sat on the couch. And she would have preferred a drink, too, but beggars couldn't be choosers. As she started digging in she heard footsteps and the cart wheeling out and the closing of the door.

It took her a minute before she realized that he was still in the room with her.

Ulquiorra was leaning against the wall by the door, watching her like a silent sentinel. Well, okay. It's wasn't like she could make him leave, but having someone watch her eat was still extremely awkward. Was this going to be how it was? Was she going to be watched by him in everything she did?

"Um…are you hungry?" she asked timidly, in an attempt to divert some of her discomfort.

"I don't care for human food."

"O-oh, um…" What did Arrancars eat? She wanted to know, but at the same time she didn't. "What was that just now? A few minutes ago?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it was like this disturbance or a change in atmosphere of something! It was weird!" She realized that she was flailing her chopsticks around and abruptly rested them in her bowl.

"Oh, so you were aware of that, were you? Some souls have entered Hueco Mundo. It happens quite regularly, but it is very rare that you are made aware of them from Las Noches. That takes powerful spiritual pressure. But it's not anything for you to concern yourself about."

"Oh. All right." She was glad it wasn't anything serious, but was still bothered. Those souls were surely Hollows. What if they'd just returned from devouring innocent people? Who was to say that a few weeks, months, years from now one of them might not return to the world of the living and attack someone she knew?

She glanced over at Ulquiorra discreetly, to where she knew his Hollow hole was hidden. Would that happen to her? If she remained in the realm of Hollows too long, would she become a Hollow herself?

"Does it hurt?"

"What?"

"Does it hurt to be a Hollow?"

He was just looking at her with that stern expression of his and Orihime was afraid that she'd offended him. But he answered. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean, you…you have a hole in your chest. Does it hurt you or do you not even notice it's there?"

"I always know it's there", he replied, "And do you know _why_ I have a hole in my chest? Well? Do you, woman?"

Orihime didn't know nearly as much about Hollows as Ichigo and Rukia, but she knew enough. "Because you've lost your heart."

"What I've lost is the weakness of humans. Could you kill me, woman? Could you strike me down without hesitation or mercy? Because I could do that to you."

She wasn't sure where he was going with this so she decided on her response carefully. "You can, but you haven't."

"Don't be mistaken, woman. You're only being protected by Lord Aizen's orders."

Her bowl was almost empty. He was probably going to leave her alone again as soon as she was done, and even his indifferent and distant company was better than no company at all.

"So, your name's Ulquiorra, huh?" she said even though she already knew what his name was. "That's an interesting name. My name's Orihime. But you probably already know that. So, um, uh…" She looked around the room, trying to think of something to talk about. "So, I guess white's a popular color in Hueco Mundo."

No answer. Well, he was an Arrancar, but still a guy. Why was she trying to discuss colors with a guy? "Well, you probably don't know much about that, huh? Don't worry, I'm not complaining or anything. I don't mind white. There's something untouchable and pure about it, you know? But at the same time, it's really cold and final like death."

She was surprised when he spoke. "How is it like death?" Well, okay, so she'd brought up subject matter he could relate to. Granted, the subject was _death_, but it was something.

"Well, I mean, white isn't really a color. It's a lack of color. It's nothingness, empty. And I mean…that's kind of what death is. Well, I don't know what it's like for a dead person since I've never been dead, but-"

"I understand."

"Huh?"

"About the color white."

"I - you do? Oh. Well, I'm glad."

"White is the best color for Hueco Mundo", said Ulquiorra, "Or not-color, I suppose."

And while Orihime hated the bland and depressing white walls, they were fitting for a bland and depressing place like Hueco Mundo. Even Ulquiorra himself seemed to blend in with the scenery, with his black and white ensemble, his dark hair and pale skin. It was almost fitting for an individual who didn't seem to be interested in anything but following orders. By far his most interesting and unique features were his eyes and the streaks down his cheeks that matched them. They were a nice shade of green by themselves, but stood out particularly vividly on him because they contrasted so much with everything else about him.

She had drawn out the eating process pretty magnificently, but couldn't hold off the inevitable forever. Besides, she didn't want Ulquiorra to lose his patience and just randomly leave for another stretch or stop talking to her or something. So she finished off the little bit of meal she had left and set the empty bowl on the couch cushion next to her, a visual indication to her stony-faced guard that she was finished with it. He took the cue.

"Have you consumed a satisfactory number of nutrients?" What a complicated way to ask such a simple thing.

"Yes."

He was either very satisfied or very dissatisfied with that answer, because he just left without saying anything. She assumed that being uncommunicative and unsociable was just typical guard behavior. Although in movies and stuff guards always seemed to be stupid, easily manipulated low-level guys who were always left unnamed, and Ulquiorra was definitely not any of those things.

She gazed out the window again. The moon still didn't seem to have moved, but then, not very much time had passed since the last time she'd looked.

She decided to explore her quarters a little more in depth. She _was_ in an enemy stronghold, after all. Maybe there were trapdoors or secret passageways or something cool.

The white walls were perfectly smooth, and so was the floor. All completely uniform and unmarred. Even all the _furniture_ was flawless. It didn't seem likely that anyone had used this room as a living space before. But since she was here, she wanted to customize it, to make it just a little less impersonal and cold. She didn't exactly have much to work with, but she'd think of something. Hmm, maybe if she moved the couch or something?

Speaking of the couch, she'd been curious about something for a while now. After setting the empty food bowl off to the side so it wouldn't get damaged, she set about moving the couch. She tugged it and shoved it and dragged it, and then when she had it situated under the window, pushed it up against the wall as much as she could. With all the noise she made, she was surprised that no one came running to see what was going on. After all, what if she was hurt or dying or something? She seemed to be in an isolated part of Las Noches. And not only was Ulquiorra her guard, but it seemed like he was her _only_ guard, and so whenever he wasn't around she was not watched.

She climbed up on the couch cushions and grabbed for the window. She could reach it but wasn't quite tall enough to get a good view out of it, even when she stretched as much as she could and stood on her tiptoes. Her objective was so very close. Why couldn't she be taller? She climbed up on top of the couch, and then she could see.

It looked like a long drop down. So she was pretty high up, then. There were no signs of life outside, either. As stupid as it was, she was hoping she might have seen the souls who entered Hueco Mundo earlier wandering around and doing…well, whatever Hollows did when they weren't terrorizing the world of the living.

There wasn't much to see, so she plopped down onto the cushions. Well. Even considering the time it had taken her to lug the huge piece of furniture into place by herself, that little diversion hadn't taken very long at all. Or at least it didn't feel like it. She was looking straight at the door. So, she was back to sitting and waiting for Ulquiorra to show up again, huh?

Well, forget that. If Ichigo was in this situation, he certainly wouldn't be so pitiful as to sit there, just waiting for his jailer to come back. Because that _was_ what Ulquiorra was. Her jailer. And her enemy. The only time she should care if he came was to bring food. Even then, the door was unlocked, so she could always just leave and find food on her own if she got really desperate. How pathetic was she, so reluctant to be alone that she was willing to cling to even an Arrancar?

She stretched out on the couch with her back to the door and took a nap.

…

Orihime was awakened by her shoulder being shaken rather roughly. She tried to shrug off the annoying presence, but it just got more persistent. Blearily she rolled over and found herself looking at Ulquiorra. Her mind registered this observation a few seconds after her eyes did. Ulquiorra.

Ulquiorra!

She sat straight up, a little too fast, and winced at the sudden headache. But she would have to try to ignore that for now. There must have been a reason he'd come, and it likely wasn't to have a friendly chat.

"Uh…hello", she said.

"Hello", he replied tonelessly, "Get up, woman. We need to go."

"Go?" she repeated stupidly, as her brain finished waking up.

"Lord Aizen has requested your presence." When she wasn't moving fast enough for his tastes he added, "He does not like to be kept waiting."

She got up and staggered off towards the bathroom. "Let me go fix my hair."

"We are already late because of you. We don't have time for your vanity."

"But, uh, I need to make myself presentable for Lord Aizen." In dealing with someone like Aizen, who could smile at you one moment and stab you the next, it was best not to provoke him in any way. A disheveled appearance could be seen as an insult.

"Hurry up", said Ulquiorra.

Orihime had the benefit of having very tame hair that was easy to fix up and smooth out, and so it took her only a few minutes to get it looking decent, even without a hairbrush. She smoothed down and straightened out her clothes, tried her best to make it look like she _hadn't_ just woken up, and then came back out. Ulquiorra was standing in the middle of the room, slouched lazily with his hands in his pockets.

And so they left. When they were both out into the hall, he closed the door behind her and took off down the hallway. For someone who seemed so apathetic, he really did have a fast gait, like he always had someplace better to be.

He led her to a new part of Las Noches, and they stopped at a set of large double doors. "Well, go on. Lord Aizen is within."

"Oh? You're not coming?" Facing Aizen was not something she wanted to do alone. It was all happening too fast! But Ulquiorra announced her presence to everyone within, the doors were opened, and he made it clear that he was not going in with her.

There was a very large room inside, and the back of a very large chair. Orihime couldn't see him, but she knew that Aizen was there from his spiritual pressure. She'd known he was there five corridors away.

"Welcome, Orihime. Thank you for coming." As if she'd had a choice! "There's something I want to show you." Aizen got up from his chair, with all the calm and coolness of a man who knew he was superior to everyone around him. He dismissed the two female Arrancar who had been standing guard at the door and called her over to him.

Just being in the same building as him was too close for comfort, much less to say the same room. And now he wanted her to go stand near him? She knew Ulquiorra was behind her, waiting outside the room, and she hated him at that moment for making her do this alone.

She went over to Aizen as he summoned a pillar from the floor. At his touch part of it came away to reveal something hidden inside.

The Hogyoku.

* * *

Next chapter: Ulquiorra and the other Espada learn about some intruders in Hueco Mundo.


	5. Intruders

Thank you all once again for reviews, favorites, alerts, etc. etc. It probably gets boring reading this in every a/n but, you know, oh well.

There are a couple of things I hate to write about and try to avoid. One of those is pretty much more than two or three characters in a scene at once, because it just gets really damn confusing. So naturally this chapter features a scene with _thirteen_ characters at once. Fun fun. Not my preference but I didn't really think it should be left out.

Coincidentally, one of the other things I don't really like to write are action scenes. Of which there will be quite a few in later chapters (we _are_ dealing with the Hueco Mundo arc here, after all). Oh well. You never get better at something if you try to avoid it all the time.

Also I used the term "Cuatro Espada" in this chapter. I think I might have used "Cuarta" before. And I have no idea how Grimmjow is "Sexta" when he's a dude and should have a masculine -o ending, but w/e.

* * *

Ulquiorra was not really certain what humans ate, so he decided to get for her the same sort of nourishment he'd see the shinigami consume. And if it was not compatible with a regular human, then…well, he would concern himself with that later if it became an issue.

He had tried the shinigami food before, a while ago. He could taste it, certainly, and it wasn't a _bad_ taste, but he could not take any pleasure in it all the same. It wasn't like devouring a soul or pure reishi.

He had one of the lesser Arrancars transport the food back to the prisoner's room, though. He had to look after her well-being, but that didn't make him her personal delivery boy.

"I brought a meal for you, woman", he said as he entered. Stating the obvious, perhaps, but he didn't know what food looked like in the world of the living so she might not recognize it for what it was. She had been sitting on the rug gazing out the window, but she stood at his entrance and came over to him, took the food, and retreated to the couch. Hmm…maybe it was best if she had a table to eat at. He would have to remember that for later.

He inclined his head in dismissal towards the Arrancar servant, and the other departed. Ulquiorra closed the door and leaned against the wall, watching her. He had never seen a human eat before so he was rather curious. She used the chopsticks to get the food from the bowl to her mouth, and ate rather slowly. He saw her look over at him. His presence seemed to disrupt her eating pattern.

"Um…are you hungry?" Was she attempting to offer him some of her meal? Why? If he had wanted some then he would have just taken it.

"I don't care for human food."

"O-oh, um…" She seemed uncomfortable now. Why? She was the one who had asked in the first place. "What was that just now? A few minutes ago?"

That told him all of nothing, but she seemed to be agitated, so he decided it was best to get to the root of whatever matter was bothering her. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it was like this disturbance or a change in atmosphere or something! It was weird!" she said animatedly, flailing her chopsticks around as though to help him understand (although really, such gestures just made her look rather silly). She seemed to realize this, because she suddenly stopped and contented herself with placing the chopsticks in the bowl. He wondered if such communication methods were normal for humans.

"Oh, so you were aware of that, were you? Some souls have entered Hueco Mundo. It happens quite regularly, but it is very rare that you are made aware of them from within Las Noches. That takes powerful spiritual pressure. But it's not anything for you to concern yourself about."

"Oh. All right." She seemed a little more at ease but still discontented. That was to be expected, but it was best not to let her grow too unhappy or it might affect her overall well-being.

She had stopped eating and seemed to be pondering something. Then he saw her look over at him, not at his face this time, but slightly lower. The fact that she was attempting to be subtle about it confirmed his suspicions. So it was he himself who made her uncomfortable. What did she think he was going to do? Jump at her and attack her at any moment? Although, he supposed he couldn't hold it against her to be afraid. It was a natural reaction.

"Does it hurt?" The question came quietly, as though she was afraid to ask.

"What?"

"Does it hurt to be a Hollow?"

Did it _hurt_? What sort of thing was that to ask? Why did she care? If he answered 'yes', would she mock him, her way of attempting to wound an enemy? Or was it a morbid human curiosity to attempt to understand that which they feared?

As to the question itself, it was difficult to answer.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean, you…you have a hole in your chest." Her eyes were fixated on him again, on where his Hollow hole was. It was like she could see it there through his clothes. "Does it hurt you or do you not even notice it's there?"

It was simultaneously the most sensitive and least sensitive part of the body. He could always feel it there, always had a constant awareness of it in the back of his mind, although he wasn't quite sure why. But there was something very deeply personal and private about it to him, that it was a part of him he didn't want to expose to just any weak trash.

"I always know it's there." Most of the other Arrancar had no problem with flaunting their Hollow holes, and so the fact that it was something Ulquiorra was sensitive about shamed him. The Cuatro Espada should not care about a thing like that. "And do you know _why_ I have a hole in my chest? Well? Do you, woman?"

"Because you've lost your heart."

His _heart_? And what was that, this sentimentality of hers? Was that why she looked sad? Did she dare to pity _him_? _Her_, a human? He had devoured countless souls, so many that he'd lost track. He had been a Vasto Lorde. He was now the Cuatro Espada. He served only the most powerful spiritual being in existence. Even without his releases, he could kill her with one hand. No, probably just a finger. And yet she looked at him not with fear, but with sadness, _pity_? If she had been anyone else, he would have killed her for daring to insult him like that.

"What I've lost is the weakness of humans. Could you kill me, woman? Could you strike me down without hesitation or mercy? Because I could do that to you."

She still did not seem intimidated at all, and that just annoyed him further. "You can, but you haven't."

"Don't be mistaken, woman. You're only being protected by Lord Aizen's orders."

That only cowed her for a couple of minutes. "So, your name's Ulquiorra, huh? That's an interesting name." So, he had gone from Mr. Arrancar to Mr. Ulquiorra to just Ulquiorra, huh? She was getting awfully familiar. "My name's Orihime. But you probably already know that. So, um, uh…" She looked around. "So, I guess white's a popular color in Hueco Mundo."

She was trying to start a pointless conversation again, just like when they'd first arrived. Was this her normal behavior? Was she attempting to diffuse his irritation? What was her objective?

"Well, you probably don't know much about that, huh?" she was saying cheerily, "Don't worry, I'm not complaining or anything. I don't mind white. There's something untouchable and pure about it, you know? But at the same time, it's really cold and final like death."

"How is it like death?"

"Well, I mean, white isn't really a color. It's a lack of color. It's nothingness, empty. And I mean…that's kind of what death is. Well, I don't know what it's like for a dead person since I've never been dead, but-"

"I understand."

"Huh?"

"About the color white."

"I - you do? Oh. Well, I'm glad."

"White is the best color for Hueco Mundo. Or not-color, I suppose." He threw in the last to humor her, since white really was a color in its own way, although the eye could not perceive all that formed it, and so was fooled. Yes. Nothingness and empty. If that was what white represented then it was fitting for Hueco Mundo.

She set the bowl down next to her when she was finished. "Have you consumed a satisfactory number of nutrients?"

"Yes."

He wasn't sure how humans could sustain themselves on such things, but he decided not to question her about it. He was interested in observing what she would do next, but then wondered why he was interested. She was a human. Prey! So long as she did not die he did not need to concern himself with her.

Although, he _would_ go find her a table or something to eat her meals off of. But that was it. That was the only kindness he'd offer her.

The only room he really used in his palace was his own. The others were untouched, the same as they had been when Lord Aizen had granted Ulquiorra this part of Las Noches. Ulquiorra had only ever looked inside them maybe once or twice, and that was when he had first moved in. He remembered that a few of them had furniture. He could not remember exactly which ones, though, so he had to explore a little.

Las Noches really was a large place. Just his little area of it was not exactly small. If that woman was to try to find her way around by herself, she could get lost forever. That was a danger that hadn't occurred to him before. Hmm. It was probably best if he started locking the door when he left. Not just other Arrancars, but Las Noches itself, threatened the fulfillment of his assignment.

In one room there was a small table shoved in the corner, dusty from disuse. It was a little rounded table, a sufficient size for one person. Huh. So he'd had something like that lying around all this time.

He went to go pick it up and gauge its weight. Hmm. Well, it was not heavy at all. Not for him, anyway. For the woman it might be. She was pretty weak, after all. But he was just looking for something for her to eat off of, not move around, so it would do.

He was alerted by the sound of footsteps. Why was there someone walking about in his palace? Was it the woman? No, not likely. The sound was not coming from the direction of her room. As the individual approached, Ulquiorra picked up on his spiritual pressure and went to go meet him.

"What are you doing here, Grimmjow?"

"What the hell kind of greeting is that? It's no wonder no one wants to talk to you, Ulquiorra."

Well, one person did. For some indiscernible reason. "What makes you think you can talk to me like that? I am of a higher rank than you. Not to mention that this is _my_ part of Las Noches."

"Oh, it is?" said Grimmjow in mock bewilderment, "I knew I took a wrong turn."

"You've come to see where the woman is being held."

"Wow, you figured it out so fast. No wonder you're the Cuatro. So where's she at, Ulquiorra?"

"That's none of your concern."

"Hey, I was part of the mission to bring her here, so she's partly my prisoner. I should get her 1/5th of the time. Well, 1/4th now that Luppi's dead."

"She is Lord Aizen's prisoner alone, and he put _me_ in charge of her well-being."

"Like _you'd_ know what to do with her. You'd leave her in some room forever and let her rot."

"That's not true", said Ulquiorra. He had just been in there with her not long before. Talked with her. He'd been picking out a table for her! "That woman has been my foremost concern ever since she was entrusted to me."

"Taking this pretty seriously, huh? Don't know why I'm surprised. But, I mean, you're Aizen's favorite. He sends you to do stuff all the time. Don't you think you should have backup?"

Ulquiorra was suspicious. "What do you mean?"

"Who's gonna keep an eye on her when you're not around? The others are gonna figure out she's here eventually. Maybe they know already. That girl can't protect herself against Arrancars. I mean, she has strange powers, what if Szayel gets wind of her? Or what about Barragan, he's kind of an asshole. What about _Nnoitra_? The guy's got a weakness for chicks with big boobs. So you should let me handle her when you're not around."

Trust _Grimmjow_ to handle things in his absence? Had the Sexta suffered brain damage during his last fight?

"Thank you for the offer, but I'll have to decline."

"Fine. Whatever you want. Oh yeah, and Aizen wanted you for something. Thought you should know."

Was Grimmjow bluffing? Just trying to get Ulquiorra to leave so he would have free run of the place? "Why was a messenger not sent?"

"Oh, you see, I intercepted the messenger." 'Intercepted' being a euphemism for 'killed' around Las Noches. "And since you did _such_ a good job leading our last mission, I thought I'd come tell you myself."

"All you did was complain after we brought Inoue back."

"That's because you couldn't wait five minutes and let me kill off that Kurosaki kid."

"Killing Kurosaki was not one of our objectives, and it will not be until Lord Aizen orders his demise."

"It's not always about _orders_ and _objectives_, you know. There's such a thing as pride, and that guy insulted mine when he gave me this scar. I can't let something like that slide. That guy's got to die. _You_ didn't kill him in the first place, and then when he injures me because of what _you_ did, you wouldn't even let _me_ kill him."

"If you hadn't left Hueco Mundo without permission you would never have gotten injured."

"And if _you_ hadn't left Kurosaki alive then he wouldn't have been around to injure me. So that makes us even for mistakes. But when you throw in your stopping me from killing him, well, you owe me something. Actually, when you consider the fact that I'm delivering a message for you personally, that's two favors you owe me."

"But you chose to do that yourself."

"Which is why you ought to be grateful. Instead you're having a debate with me. You can start paying back your debt to me by leaving me in charge of that girl while you're gone. Aizen's waiting for you, you know."

It seemed likely that Grimmjow was lying. If he _wasn't_, though, and Ulquiorra ignored Lord Aizen's summons…

Ulquiorra decided on his course of action. He would go and do whatever it was Lord Aizen wanted and come back as quickly as possible. "When I return, if I find any mark on her, even the slightest indication that she's been harmed in any way, Lord Aizen's going to have to find a new Sexta Espada." And with that he departed.

As it turned out, Lord Aizen really _had_ summoned him.

"I apologize for my tardiness, Lord Aizen. Grimmjow was the one who informed me that you had sent for me."

"Really? But I sent a messenger."

"The messenger was intercepted."

"I see. That's problematic. I'll look into that matter later. Anyway, I'd like you to bring Miss Inoue to me." He didn't elaborate.

"Is there anything else, Lord Aizen?" Ulquiorra prompted.

"Actually, there's something you might be interested to know. A little while ago, some souls entered Hueco Mundo. Did you sense it?"

"Yes. What of it?"

"These were not just any souls. We have some visitors. A rescue party, to be exact."

So they had come for the woman. It certainly hadn't taken them very long at all. "Shinigami?"

"Well, a substitute shinigami. Do you remember when I told you all about the Soul Society? About how I retrieved the Hogyoku?"

"Yes."

"Those same humans who invaded the Soul Society have come to tour Las Noches."

"I see. Where are they right now?"

"In an underground passage, far from here."

"And I suppose they will be coming after me."

"If you try to stop them from taking Orihime Inoue back, undoubtedly."

"But I will." He would sooner die than let some humans jeopardize Lord Aizen's plans.

"Then I suppose you had better keep an eye on the situation", said Lord Aizen.

"Did you want me to tell Orihime Inoue about this?"

"Whatever you want. Use your own discretion. But in regards to this matter, I've decided to call a meeting of the Espada. Same place as usual. You might as well tell Grimmjow, too."

"Yes, Lord Aizen. May I please be dismissed to attend to my duties?" The less time Grimmjow was left alone with the woman, the better.

Lord Aizen looked amused. "Something on your mind, Ulquiorra? You seem distracted."

"Of course not, Lord Aizen."

Lord Aizen just gave him a _look_, and Ulquiorra felt the man's spiritual pressure increase rapidly and grow more heavy. "Ulquiorra, I'm disappointed. Do you think you can lie to me?"

It was like a great weight had been dropped suddenly onto Ulquiorra's back, like his bones would surely break at any moment. Even he could not stay on his feet for long under the full weight of Lord Aizen's spiritual pressure, not with his powers sealed, at least. A few minutes more and he would be forced to his knees. "It's not a lie", he said, "Grimmjow was in my palace when I left. He cannot be trusted and I don't want to leave Inoue vulnerable to him any longer than necessary. That is all. But whatever matters _you_ want me to attend to take precedence, Lord Aizen."

The pressure suddenly lifted. Lord Aizen still had the same amused expression on his face, as though nothing had happened. "I don't imagine her friends would be very happy if they went through all this trouble and found her dead."

They likely weren't very happy that she had been kidnapped in the first place. What did _their_ feelings matter in all of this? "No. Probably not."

"Well, go on and bring her to me, then. You're dismissed."

"Yes, Lord Aizen."

Ulquiorra was glad to get away. He felt light-headed and weak from warding off Lord Aizen's spiritual pressure, and really wanted nothing more at that moment than to lie down and sleep and let the abundant reishi of Hueco Mundo replenish his energy. Going out into the desert and devouring some Hollows was an alternative, but required more effort on his part. There were, however, more pressing matters at hand that needed to be attended to.

He used sonido all the way back to his palace. He stumbled a little on the last one and stopped to catch his breath and collect himself. He was not going to let anyone see him in a state of weakness, much less to say a human. How embarrassing that one so powerful as him should be weakened by a shinigami's spiritual pressure. Those foolish humans did not know what they were doing, walking into Lord Aizen's stronghold voluntarily.

When he had composed himself sufficiently, he went to Inoue's room. Grimmjow was sitting in the corridor near her door, bouncing a rubber ball against the opposite wall and catching it with one hand when it came back. Throwing it and catching it, again and again.

"Took you long enough, Ulquiorra", Grimmjow complained as soon as he and Ulquiorra saw each other.

"I returned as quickly as I was able."

"If you thought that was quick, then I don't want to know what your idea of slow is."

"What about the woman?"

"What about her? She's in there sleeping."

'Sleeping' was also a euphemism for 'dead'. Ulquiorra immediately rushed to her door and looked inside. She was lying on the couch with her back to him. "How did the couch get under the window?"

"Wasn't me", said Grimmjow.

She'd moved it over there by herself? Perhaps he'd underestimated her physical strength. She looked unharmed though. "No one else has come in my absence?"

"Nope. And you know what, Ulquiorra? Your palace is really, _really_ boring. Not like mine. Well, it's been a lot more dull since my Fracciones died - at the hands of the friends of the same punk _you_ wouldn't let me kill, I might add - but it's still a whole hell of a lot better than yours."

"Oh, yes", said Ulquiorra before Grimmjow had a chance to go on again, "Lord Aizen has called a meeting of the Espada. I let you stay here in my absence as you wished and delivered a message to you myself. So I suppose that makes us 'even', then, hmm?"

"Not exactly", Grimmjow replied, "I stayed here until you got back even though it was boring as hell. So you still owe me."

"But that was what you agreed to do in the first place."

"I said I'd watch her while you were gone. I never said I'd watch her the _whole_ time you were gone. That's extra. You owe me for that." Grimmjow stood and jammed the rubber ball into his pocket. "So when's this Espada meeting?"

"In a short while. Lord Aizen has another important matter to attend to at the immediate moment."

"Whatever. This meeting had better be about something interesting."

"I'm sure you won't be disappointed", Ulquiorra replied, wondering how Grimmjow would react when he learned just who had invaded Hueco Mundo. He would go into a foolish rage, probably.

As Grimmjow loudly walked off, Ulquiorra turned his attention to something more important.

The woman was still in the same position she had been in a moment before. He walked up to where she lay and she did not stir at all. She seemed to sleep soundly. It was rather surprising that she could sleep at all, considering recent events.

He wasn't sure of the best way to go about rousing her, so he shook her by the shoulder. It felt like he was barely using any strength at all, but he didn't want to injure her accidentally. She stirred a little but didn't wake up. He shook her a little harder.

She rolled over and stared at him blankly, then sat up suddenly. "Uh…hello."

Strange woman. "Hello. Get up, woman. We need to go."

"Go?"

Well, all right, it was understandable for her to be confused. "Lord Aizen has requested your presence." She didn't seem to have much of a reaction to that. Did she still not comprehend the degree of Lord Aizen's power, then? It was in her best interests to learn quickly. "He does not like to be kept waiting."

She got up and staggered off towards the bathroom. "Let me go fix my hair."

Fix her hair? What was wrong with it? It wasn't like it was falling out or anything. Well, it didn't matter. "We are already late because of you. We don't have time for your vanity."

"But, uh, I need to make myself presentable for Lord Aizen", she said, and went into the bathroom anyway.

What about her was not presentable? She looked fine to him, but she was being persistent on this matter. Not to mention that she had already gone off even though he'd made it known that he didn't want her to. And this act of defiance, despite how minor it was, certainly was not lost on him.

"Hurry up", he said. She certainly was not behaving like a prisoner. It had been just the two of them this time, but what if the next time she blew him off like that they were in front of another Arrancar? Or Lord Aizen? He was the Cuatro Espada, and she was just a human. She should be cowering in fear of him, flinching at his every word, submitting and falling at the feet of her captor. Fear, the primordial fear he felt towards Lord Aizen and that he instilled in others, was something he could understand.

It didn't really seem to be present in Orihime Inoue, though. There was some fear in her, but not of him. Where he was concerned, it was almost like…like…

…_like she considered them as equals._

She had that same arrogance as Ichimaru and Tousen, but without the contempt. And it was highly aggravating.

As soon as she emerged, he set off. She had insisted on delaying them, so she could try to keep up (although he never walked so fast that she'd completely fall behind, since Lord Aizen would probably be displeased if Ulquiorra showed up without her). And she followed him the whole way without complaining, running to catch up each time she started dragging. He didn't slow down at all and she didn't ask him to. It both impressed and annoyed him. He hated weakness, but humans were _supposed_ to be fragile and weak.

When they arrived at their destination she had to stop to catch her breath. He could see the apprehension on her face, the reluctance, the fear…

…fear that she had yet to feel towards Ulquiorra himself. It renewed his irritation. "Well, go on. Lord Aizen is within."

"Oh? You're not coming?" She sounded almost…_disappointed_. Had she honestly been expecting something of him?

Truth be told, he had been planning on going in with her originally, but changed his mind. She thought she was equal to him? Then let her face Lord Aizen alone just as he always did. "Lord Aizen!" he called loudly, "I have brought Orihime Inoue."

The doors were opened by two minor Arrancars whose names he couldn't recall. Then again, maybe he'd just never bothered to learn them.

The woman hesitated and looked over at him again one last time, and then she proceeded on, on her own. And he was again simultaneously impressed and annoyed.

Lord Aizen dismissed the two Arrancar and they stormed out in a rage. What he did next was quite surprising - he showed the woman the Hogyoku. Then very shortly after that he dismissed her.

She seemed quite troubled and humbled now. So, then, did she understand the Hogyoku's power, and Lord Aizen's power to control itThey were more than halfway back to her room when she asked, "So is that how you became an Arrancar? Because of the Hogyoku?"

"Yes."

"Well…did you _want_ to become an Arrancar?"

"Of course."

"But I don't understand", she murmured.

"What is it that confuses you?"

"Well, Hollows hate shinigami. But Arrancars are not much different than them. Why would you want to become more like beings you hate?"

Become more like the shinigami? Only in regards to gaining shinigami powers. Arrancars gained no shinigami weaknesses. "Do I seem very shinigami-like to you?" Would he really have to point out the obvious differences?

"Well, maybe without the hole and mask fragment on your head."

"Are you an idiot? You are only looking at superficial differences. It all comes down to your nature. You, for instance, would make a terrible Hollow."

"But anyone could become a Hollow. Under the right circumstances, that is. It's not just bad souls."

"I never said it was", he replied rather testily. She was going to talk in a matter-of-fact way about Hollows to _him_?

"How did you become a Hollow?" she asked.

"How did you become a human?"

"Well I was born as one."

"Well, I was born as a Hollow."

"Can Hollows be born?" She looked confused now. "I thought all Hollows were human once."

"I suppose that's technically correct." He knew Hollows were fallen human souls, and so it stood to reason that he was as well. But the identity of 'Ulquiorra' was composed of hundreds of Hollows - Hollows who had originally come together to form a Gillian long ago, and Hollows he had devoured. Hundreds of Hollows, who had consumed hundreds of souls and lived human lives hundreds of times. But Ulquiorra himself had never been human. He could never become human and had no desire to. Humans were nothing to admire. They were weak and foolish creatures. His own existence was a testament to human folly. Hollows had been born before him from humans who had succumbed to despair. And Hollows were born after him, would continue to be born forever, as long as humans existed. All across the world of the living, all through time, humanity endlessly repeated the same mistakes. They deserved to be devoured by Hollows, for Hollows were humanity's own creation.

When the woman had been returned to her room, Ulquiorra went to the meeting room, where most of the Espada were already gathered outside the doors, waiting for everyone else to arrive.

"Where the hell's Aizen at, Ulquiorra?" asked Grimmjow irritably.

"How should I know?"

"You always know where he is. You act like keeping track of him is your job or something. What the hell, Ulquiorra? Too busy keeping track of that human instead, huh?"

"So that human you guys brought to Hueco Mundo has been with Ulquiorra this whole time?" said Harribel.

"Yup. I'm surprised that you didn't know. He's been really obsessive. And here I thought it wasn't possible for him to have an interest in anything besides obeying Lord Aizen. Well, even I'm wrong once in a while", Grimmjow replied.

"I have no interest in that woman", said Ulquiorra.

"Oh, it's a _woman_?" said Nnoitra with a sneer, "Have you been putting her in her place?"

"No - well, yes, but not in a physical way - actually, it's none of your business."

"Well, you'd better get to disciplining her quickly or it will be too late."

"I hear she has some interesting powers", said Szayel.

"_You're_ not getting anywhere near her", said Ulquiorra sharply, "She's not to be killed."

"Why leave her with _you_, then? You'd probably let her starve or something."

Why did everyone keep assuming things like that? Ichimaru was one thing, but Ulquiorra couldn't tolerate it from lower-ranked Arrancars.

"Even if I did, do you have a problem with it?"

Szayel backed off. He, at least, wasn't stupid. "I wasn't intending to make you angry. I was just curious."

Grimmjow was really the only one Ulquiorra was angry at, for running his mouth about Inoue in front of all the others. The Sexta seemed to enjoy toeing the line where his superiors were concerned, and he'd been especially obnoxious to Ulquiorra for not killing Kurosaki during that very first encounter. And now Kurosaki was here in Hueco Mundo, and Grimmjow was still unaware…

Ulquiorra was again tempted to enlighten him. The other Espada would surely go on a vengeful rampage. Maybe the two would kill each other and benefit all parties involved. Or at the very least, it would give Grimmjow something to do other than strut with bravado about Las Noches and blame Ulquiorra for the human not being dead.

Nothing more was said between any of them as they waited for the rest to arrive. Starrk was last of all, as usual.

"So you all are waiting?" He showed up without a care in the world as usual. Maybe once you were the strongest, you got to be that laid-back since you had nothing to strive for anymore.

"You know Lord Aizen likes to show up last", said Harribel.

As if one cue, Lord Aizen, Ichimaru, and Tousen made their grand appearance via shunpo.

"Every time", Starrk muttered.

"Well, of course", replied Lord Aizen, "I hate to be kept waiting." He looked over them all. "We have intruders."

With his arrival, the Espada all filed into the meeting room. "Underground passage #22 has self-destructed", Zommari informed them all. Had he known that this entire time?

"Oh? They picked an awfully far away spot to break in", Barragan replied.

"You can say that again", said Szayel, "It would've been fun if they'd broken right into the throne room." How many of them already knew that Hueco Mundo had been invaded? And yet they'd made no moves. It was surprising that they all had that much restraint.

"Ha ha! Excellent!" Well, so maybe Nnoitra had been unaware.

"Shut up", Starrk complained, "I'm trying to sleep over here. Stop screaming."

Lord Aizen took his seat last, as always. "Good morning, Espadas. We've been invaded. But first, some tea."

Gathering thirteen individuals together for a meeting was not an easy task, especially considering the thirteen individuals in this particular situation. The time it took for tea to be served to everyone was enough for them all to calm down and prepare to listen.

Lord Aizen knew when the air had shifted in his favor, and he knew when to begin speaking again. "Does everyone have a cup? All right, then. Please listen to me while you enjoy your tea. Kaname - the picture, please."

"Yes, my lord." And then Tousen pulled a lever that opened up a portal in the center of the table. Ulquiorra saw Ichigo Kurosaki again…and so did Grimmjow. His reaction was immediate. Would he take off after Kurosaki, with Lord Aizen sitting right there? Or would he bide his time?

"There are three intruders", Lord Aizen was saying, "Uryu Ishida, Yasutora Sado, and Ichigo Kurosaki."

The other Espada were, unsurprisingly, quite unimpressed, and Ulquiorra had to agree with those sentiments. He didn't understand why Lord Aizen had felt the need to call a full-fledged meeting over these three in the first place. It seemed like overkill just for some humans.

"Don't underestimate them", said Lord Aizen, "They were among the four ryoka that invaded the Soul Society and defied the Gotei 13."

"Who's the missing one?" said Zommari.

"Orihime Inoue", Ulquiorra replied.

Then Nnoitra and Harribel sniped at each other - no surprise, given Nnoitra's extreme resentment of the Tres. Although, _that_ whole matter didn't have so much to do with Harribel herself as it did with Nnoitra's unresolved Nelliel issues (of which he had many). But far more interesting was that Grimmjow's self-control finally snapped and he stormed off. It was surprising that he'd been able to restrain himself for that long.

"Where are you going, Grimmjow?" queried Tousen.

"I'm gonna kill them. They're vermin. The sooner they're exterminated the better."

"Lord Aizen hasn't given you your orders yet. Sit down."

"I'm going to kill them _for _Lord Aizen."

"Grimmjow." Lord Aizen spoke now, calmly and coolly. But Lord Aizen was always in control of a situation.

Being rude to higher-ranked Espada was one thing, but Lord Aizen was an entirely different matter. All Lord Aizen had done was address him, and that seemed to have been enough for Grimmjow to remember himself. "Yes?"

"Your enthusiasm is appreciated. But I haven't finished talking yet. Please sit down."

Grimmjow didn't respond (he probably wasn't sure of the proper way to do so) but he didn't rush to take his seat again, either.

"What's that? I didn't hear you, Grimmjow Jaegerjaques." Lord Aizen turned to look back at him, and Grimmjow was brought to his knees from the sudden spike in spiritual pressure. Hmm. He'd gone down awfully fast.

"Good", said Lord Aizen conversationally, "Now we understand each other. Now then. As you all can see, three enemies have arrived. I wouldn't underestimate them, but there's no need for excessive alarm, either. I want all of you to return to your palaces and go about your business as usual. Don't be overconfident and don't be reckless. Just wait for the enemy. And don't be afraid. No matter what happens, as long as you're with me no one can defeat you."

Those three humans were indescribably foolish. The odds were so overwhelmingly against them. Did they seriously believe that they could even find Orihime Inoue, much less to say retrieve her and escape with her safely? They had to be morons of the highest order to even attempt such a thing. It was the woman's misfortune that she had allies that were so stupid.

Well. They would have a long way to go, and many Arrancar to go through before they reached her. And if by some chance they did make it that far, he would be waiting for them, to end their mission himself.

* * *

Next chapter: Orihime finds out about berry head and crew busting stuff up. Also, she gets a wardrobe change.


End file.
